The central themes in the readings seem to outline the necessity of having both resistance and control and that rather than perceiving the two as working in opposition, they can actually create greater opportunity for all when working together. Lawrence Lessig gave the example of Walt Disney's 'borrowings' for Steamboat Willie. There are two issues here. Firstly, that Steamboat Bill was shown immediately prior to Steamboat Willie and that the second was a parody of the first. The two worked together and as such struck a chord with audiences that neither could achieve independently. The second issue, as Lessig discusses, is the greater creative freedom that Disney had in 1928 as a result of the few patents and copyrights that had been enacted at that time, along with the fact that patents and copyrights were also much shorter at the beginning of the 20th century, around 20 years. This is significant because as patent and copyright restrictions increased over this century, along with their duration (to around 70 years in the 1960's and 1970's), creative freedom and expression became incredibly restrained. Further, because the duration of these patents and copyrights became extended to 'a lifetime' rather than a few generations, ideas slowly began to lose their 'natural creative momentum' becoming a kind of 'creative dead-end' or as having a creative lack of continuity (Lessig 2004). For example, many engineers and inventors waited for Watts' patent to expire on the steam engine in order to implement their own improvements, however, over a 70 year period this would be unlikely and although it is suggested that because of Watts' patent the industrial revolution was perhaps delayed by a few decades, it nonetheless still eventuated (Boldrin & Levine 2007). This is an example of the interests of the individual patent owner far outweighing the collective good, and a need for greater balance in this respect.
Lessig also discusses Japanese comics known as manga and the rip-off copies/derivatives known as doujinshi (About.com 2011). Technically, the latter are illegal in Japan, however, the crime is not enforced and manga distributors believe that doujinshi rip-offs in fact create greater demand for manga. When consulted, Japanese lawyers attest that the reason the copyright breaches are not policed is because quite simply there are not 'enough lawyers' (Lessig 2004). The democratic consensus seems to have already escaped the practical necessity or collective desire for this law. Where in the past these laws have created a fissure and separation between the two perspectives, popular culture seems to have initiated a fusion between the two.
Similar conceptions can be paralleled to society which it would seem moves in cycles and patterns over larger periods of history synchronised with the human lifespan. The Kondratieff Cycle for example is an economic cycle that indicates subcultural activity occurring in reaction to economic hardship at regular intervals throughout history over the last few hundred years (Angelfire 2000). Perhaps this very conception or question is part of the cycle and occurs at this stage of each cycle. Is it possible however, that through social scientific research, our awareness of this cycle has enabled us to alter it irreversibly in an unprecedented fashion? And if so, can this amendment be managed and built into or annexed to the existing cycle somehow? Do we necessarily have to return to this 'narrative' now that its patent has seemingly expired? If we do, is it possible to make the changes now that we have been long anticipating but have been unable to implement because of untenable restriction? The John W. Snapper reading perhaps provides a possible solution (Snapper 1999).
References
About.com, 2011, Doujinshi, accessed 20/8/2011, http://manga.about.com/od/glossary/g/doujinshi.htm
Angelfire, 2000, Kondratieff Wave, accessed 20/8/2011, http://www.angelfire.com/or/truthfinder/index22.html
Boldrin, M and Levine, D K, 2007, Introduction in Against Intellectual Monopoly, accessed 15/8/2011, http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/papers/anew01.pdf
Lessig, L 2004, Free Culture, accessed 15/8/2011, http://authorama.com/free-culture-4.html
Snapper, J W 1999, 'On the Web, plagiarism matters more than copyright piracy', Ethics and Information Technology, Vol. 1, pp127-136
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